Knitted undergarment



Nov. 28, 1961 J. E. MORGAN KNITTED UNDERGARMENT Filed Sept. 15, 1958 Inventor John E. Morgan Attorney ml- 4 L United States Patent 3,010,302 KNITTED UNDERGARMENT John E. Morgan, Tamaqua, Pa., assignor to John E. Morgan Patents, Inc., Tamaqua, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 15, 1958, Ser. No. 761,011 6 Claims. (Cl. 66177) The present invention relates to the production of knitted undergarments such as midways, briefs, drawers and pajamas for men and boys as well as to similar items for women and girls.

In order to provide desired fabric weight and stretch characteristics to the back portion of an undergarment, it is conventional to employ a pair of superposed ribknitted fabrics which are secured together at the borders thereof. Unfortunately, the superposed fabrics of the art are bulky and cumbersome and the desired stretchability is achieved at the expense of a sleazy feel and a tendency to sag.

The invention is directed to the provision of a single knit fabric which will uniquely provide, in use in the back portion of an undergarment, the desired fabric Weight and stretch characteristics without introducing undue bulk or any sleazy feel or tendency to sag.

In accordance with the invention, a pair of tightly and oppositely twisted yarns are supplied to coacting knitting needles arranged and opperated for rib knitting, e.g., cooperating cylinder and dial needles, at two different angles so that one yarn contacts the needles of each needle bank first and is thereafter covered by the other yarn to provide a rib knitted fabric in which the yarn loops comprise a pair of segregated and individual yarns which are free to move to surface opposite sides of the knitted fabric. The doubled yarn loops containing individual oppositely twisted yarns which are tied together only where the yarn loops are joined to adjacent loops provide the fabric weight which is needed for the back portion of an undergarment together with increased elasticity and pliability to provide the desired stretchability without tendency to sag. At the same time, the unitary nature of the rib knitted fabric eliminates the bulky and cumbersome character as well as the sleazy feel of the prior art superposed fabrics and thereby enables new and superior undergarments to be constructed.

The invention will be more fully described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a rear view of a pair of mens undershorts constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic partial perspective view on an enlarged scale illustrating the knitting operation of the invention and showing a pair of oppositely twisted yarns being supplied to a pair of coacting rib-knitting needle banks to be substantially simultaneously knitted into a fabric in which the bulk of the yarns in each of the yarn loops are separate and independent of one another so as to be shiftable to opposite sides of the fabric to provide increased elasticity; and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic elevation of the rib knitted product of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the mens undershorts pictured in FIG. 1 is generically identified by the numeral 10. These undershorts are in many respects conventional and comprise a front body portion (not shown), side portions 11 and 12, a crotch portion 13 and a back portion 14. The front, side and back portions are seamed at their upper end to the elastic waistband 15 and are seamed to one another as indicated by seam lines 15. The numeral 17 designates border material which 3,010,302 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 is sewn to the free edges of the various portions of the undershorts 10 to define the conventional leg-openings.

The back portion 14 is knitted from oppositely twisted pairs of yarns in accordance with the invention and is employed with the ribs of the knitted fabric running in a horizontal direction as indicated by the numeral 18. The ribs in the remaining portions are desirably vertical as indicated by the numeral 19.

The rib knitted back portion 14 is knitted by supplying opposited twisted yarns 20 and 21 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. 7

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2 oppositely twisted yarns 20 and 21 are supplied through openings 22 and 23 formed in an inclinedyarn guide 24 which is positional between the reaches of cylinder needles C and dial needles D which intermesh with one another as in conventional rib knitting.

The yarn 20 is supplied through lower opening 22 and the books of the retracting needles C and D are forced to first engage the yarn 21 which is supplied through the upper opening 23 and which approaches the needles C and D at a steeper angle than the yarn 20. The yarn 21 is thus within the hooks of the needles C and D when the yarn 20 is inserted therein so that the yarn loop which is formed upon needle retraction contains a greater length of yarn 20 than of yarn 21 as is seen with particular clarity adjacent to the sectioned needle banks 25 and 26. The phantom lines 27 and 28 indicate the length of the needle banks 25 and 26 respectively.

The yarns 20 and 21 are multifilament yarns which are preferably tightly twisted to provide at least about 3.75 twists per inch of length.

The fabric produced is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 3, where it will be seen that the yarn loops formed by the yarns 20 and 21 are largely positioned on opposite sides of the knitted product as a result of the opposite twist in the two yarns and the fact that the yarn loops are of different size and hence free and independent so that they can move as dictated by their twist. The yarn 20 is shaded and the yarn 21 is unshaded to facilitate an understanding of the drawing.

In this manner, the knitted product is surfaced with dilferent yarns on opposite sides and is uniquely adapted to provide the pliability and enhanced stretchability which is needed in accordance with the invention.

In a preferred form of the invention, knitting is car ried out as shown in FIG. 2 using independently mounted knitting needles of conventional construction arranged for l X 1 rib knitting. While 1 X l rib knitting is preferred in accordance .with this invention, other needle arrangements may be used, e.g., 2 x 1 and 2 x 2, etc. The two yarns are desirably constituted by oppositely twisted yarns having 3.75 twists per inch of length. Thus, one of the yarns would be twisted in normal manner (known as an S twist) while the other yarn would have a reverse twist (known as a Z twist). The S twist yarn is fed through the upper hole 23 in yarn guide 24 while the Z twist yarn is fed through the lower hole 22 in the yarn guide 24.

If desired, the S and Z twist yarns may be reversed with the S twist yarn being supplied through opening 22 and the Z twist yarn through opening 23.

The invention is defined with the claims which follow:

I claim:

1. An undergarment comprising a back portion constituted by a single piece of fabric rib knitted with a pair of tightly and oppositely twisted yarns with the yarn loops formed by one of said yarns being longer than the yarn loops knitted by the other of said yarns, each of said pair of yarn loops surfacing opposite sides of said fabric.

2. An undergarment as recited in claim 1 in which said fabric is positioned so that the ribs thereof are horizontal in said back portion. 7

3. An undergarment comprising a waistband and a plurality of portions including a back portion secured to said waistband, said back portion being constituted by a' the ribs thereof are horizontal in said back portion.

4. An undergarment as recited in claim 3 in which said 8 and Z yarns are twisted to provide at least 3.75 twists per inch of length.

5. An undergarment-as recited in claim 3 in which said fabric is knitted with a 1 x l rib pattern.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,910,932 Phillips -Q. May 23, 1933 2,027,987 Reis Jan. 14, 1936 2,220,277 Ralston Nov. 5, 1940 2,308,121 St. Pierre et a1 Jan. 12, 1943 2,319,340 Nebel May 18,1943 2,511,685 Anderson June 13, 1950 2,775,880 Philip Jan. 1, 1957 2,809,510 West Oct. 15, 1957 2,832,125 Knohl Apr. 29, 1958 2,833,134 Gift May 6, 1958 

